Tool for flaring and severing sleeves from plastics tubing



May5, 19170 c. EJDRIZA' ETAL TOOL on FLARING 1mm SEVERINGMSIQEEVES IFROMPLASTIGSTUBING Original Filed March 17, 1965 2 Sheets-Shqet 1 V INVEN IQR Q May 5, 1970 c. E. DRIZA v ETAL 3,509,599

TOOL FOR FLARING AND SEVERING SLEEVES FROM PLASTICS TUBING OriginalFiled March 17, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 POSITION 2 Q Z O Q N Z 0 N Q! Q 9N l 2 E 0' 3 0 3 ,1, L9 2 0 9 O E 2 E E 5 m II I! II o) I ;m 9 I 1 LLRil i i o, i N 1 5 w INVENTORS f CHARLES E. DR/ZA n" m iim l BY I a ATTCRNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 1819 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A tool and method for operating the tool is described forsevering sleeve sections from an elongated tubular plastics member in amanner to form permanently a flare at each end of the sleeve sectionssevered from the elongated tube.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 440,479 filedMar. 17, 1965, now Patent No. 3,410,939.

This invention relates to a new and improved container of the typehaving a yieldable side wall and sheet metal end closures. Moreparticularly the invention relates to containers having a polypropyleneplastics sleeve type body adapted to be closed at each end by sheetmetal end closures and to the method of manufacturing containers of thattype.

A further object of the present invention is an improved method andapparatus for the formation of the cylindrical sleeve of plasticsmaterial that may be adapted with sheet metal end closures at each endto form a container for enclosing materials in a fluid-tight manner.

Another object of the present invention is a method for severing sleevesections from an elongated tubular member in a manner to form a flare ateach end of the severed sleeve sections.

A further object is a method for preforming plastics sleeve sections andsheet metal end closures for the improved container of the presentinvention so as to adapt each to be joined to the other in aconventional rolled, double seam seal, without forming fractures in theplastics sleeve at the seam or wrinkles in the plastic body of thecompleted container at the seam between the plastics sleeve and the endclosure.

Further objects and features of the invention will be fully apparent tothose skilled in the art from the specification and appended drawingsillustrating certain preferred embodiments in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a container constructed in accordancewith the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view, partially in section, of the containerconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the formation of the endclosure prior to its use in a seaming engagement with the sleevesections of the present container.

FIGURES 5, 6, 7 and 8 are enlarged sectional views showing the stepsemployed in seaming the end closures onto the sidewalls.

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of the apparatus employed to formcontainer sleeve sections and showing the tubular stock of the plasticsmaterial in the section.

FIGURES 10, 11, 12 and 13 are enlarged sectional views showing the stepsin the formation of the flange on the plastics sleeve section and thesevering of the sleeve sections from the tubular plastics stock.

The container illustrated in FIG. 1 has all of the appearances of ametal container having metal end closures on each end; however, inaccordance with the present invention, the container is formed of aplastics material body portion. The container is intended, however, toserve all of the purposes of the now universally used metal containerwhile at the same time providing the advantages of having yieldable sidewalls and rigid end closures. As illustrated in FIG. 3, in a sectionthrough the double rolled seam of the container, an end closure 21 isshown double seamed with the body portion 22 of the container of FIG. 1.The body portion of the container was formed as a flanged sleeve memberof a desired container length and the end closures were then applied toeach end of the container.

A preferred plastics material contemplated for the container asillustrated in this application is an extrudable grade of polypropylene.The polypropylene polymer material is initially extruded as a long tubefrom a suitable extruding device, such as a 2 /2" plastics extruder, andis then cut into the desired container lengths and flanged to permit theattachment of the end closures. One of the uses to which the containeras illustrated in this application may be put is for canning lubricatingmotor oils and for that purpose the following formulation of a modifiedpolypropylene material has been found to be successful.

Material: Amount 0.4 MFR polypropylene lbs 50 Calcium stearate grams 34(Dilauryl) (thio di propionate) do 56.8 BHT (Butylated hydroxy toluene)do 22.7 0-158 (not specified by vendor) do 45.5 No. neutral base motoroil lbs 6 To the above blend a sutficient powdered pigment may be addedto provide the desired color in the extruded material. MFR, as shown inthe material column above, is melt-flow-rate and is used to characterizepolymer materials.

The base powder and the stabilizers of the above materials are initiallyblended in a Henschel blender for approximately three minutes at a lowspeed. After the three minute preblending the 130 neutral base motor oilis slowly added to the mix and the blender is switched to a high speedoperation for an additional 6-7 minutes of high speed mixing. After theten minute mix, the mixture is removed from the blender and may be hotmelt extruded into pellets to be used as the feedstock when convertingthe material into tubing. The mixture from the blender also may be usedto feed directly to the tube extrusion operation, thereby by-passing thepelletizing operation. The wall thickness referred to in thisapplication is in the range of 0.031 inch to 0.035 inch, but should notbe constructed to eliminate the use of thin wall tubing in other thanthese thicknesses.

FIGURES 9-13 illustrate the formation of container sleeve sections fromthe extruded tubing. As illustrated in FIGURE 9, the tubing 23 ispositioned on a sleeve cutting tool where sections of a suitable lengthfor the container that is to be formed are cut. The tubing 23 issupported on a flanging arbor 24 mounted on a rotatable shaft 25 and isforced against a shoulder 26 operating as a step for the positioning ofthe tubular material on the arbor. The shaft supporting the arbor 24extends through the arbor and carries an outboard support 27 to provideadditional support for the tube 23. At an established position along thearbor, a cutter blade 28 is mounted by suitable means onto the arbor 24so as to be rotatable with the arbor 24. Between the body portion of thearbor and an end support 29, the diameter of the arbor and the endsupport are suitably reduced as at 31 and 32 to provide a hanging arealong the arbor. The diameter of the cutter blade is subtantially thesameas the diameter of the arbor 24.

A flare forming wheel 33 is adapted to cooperate with he cutter blade 28to sever and flare the sleeve sections rom the tubing 23. The wheel 33is mounted on a otatable shaft 34 positioned to be parallel totherotatable haft -25 supporting the arbor 24. The shafts 25 and 34 arenovable laterally relative to each other so that the flare orming wheelmay be moved to cooperate with the utter blade to accomplish the flaringof the tubular maerial 23 to form it into the flexible side wall of thesleeve member 22 as illustrated in FIGURE 3. The flare forming vheel issuitably attached to the shaft 34 so as to .be otated by its shaft whilethe arbor 24 is rotated to rotate he tube 23. Shafts 25 and 34 haveidentical rotational peeds.

As illustrated in FIGURES -13 the flaring and severng operation isaccomplished in a number of revolutions f the two shafts and 34. FIGURE10 illustrates a first losition with the sleeve 23 positioned betweenthe flare orming wheel 33 and the cutter blade 28. The flare formugwheel 33 is provided with shoulders at 35 and 36 paced from each otherto form a valley 37 therebetween. The base of the valley issubstantially parallel to the axis rf the shaft 34 on which the flareforming wheel is mounted. Between the flat surfaces and the inner edgesf the shoulders 35- and 36, the valley of the wheel is :hamfered toprovide working surfaces at 38 and 39 to )e described hereinafter.FIGURE 11 illustrates the posiion of the sleeve material 23 between thecutter blade 58 of the arbor 24 and the flare forming wheel 33 as the;hafts 25 and 34 are moved laterally toward each other. [he first fewrevolutions of these two shafts (at least two evolutions) applies apressure against the sleeve material 0 cause it to be initially pressedand formed into the alley of the flare forming wheel. From thisoperation he polypropylene tubing material of the present inven- ;iontakes an initial set without causing fractures along be sharp bends ofthe sleeve material. It should be noted :hat the inner edges of theshoulders 35 and 36 are rounded to prevent sharp cracking of the sleevematerial.

As illustrated in FIGURE 12, the next few revolutions )f the two shafts25 and 34 are accomplished with addizional lateral movement of the twoshafts toward each Jther. As the shafts are moved toward each other, the:utting surface of the cutter blade 28' is brought into con- :act withthe flat bottom of the valley 37 to cause the tube 23 to be cut into asleeve portion. Several revolutions of the two shafts are accomplishedin this position to insure the cutting of the tube into the sleevesections.

As illustrated in FIGURE 13, the two shafts 25 and 34 are then separatedfrom each other and the sleeve portion 22 is removed from the arbor andanother severing operation is performed. It should be noted in FIGURE 13that the sleeve 22 has been severed from the tube 23 and that the end ofthe sleeve 22 has been formed into a flange 41 having a permanent setoutwardly from the axis of the tube. It should also be noted that theleading edge of the next sleeve 23 has been formed into a flange at 42so that as the next sleeve member is severed from the tube, it will haveone end flange already formed. After a sleeve mem ber is formed the twoshafts 2 5 and 34 will be moved away from each other, the sleeveremoved, and then the tubing repositioned for the formation of the nextsleeve.

While the foregoing severing operation has been described as employing asingle cutter blade and cooperating flare forming wheel, it should beunderstood that the shaft-25 may accommodate a number of arbors 24 andthat the shaft 34 may also accommodate a number of flare forming wheelsin alignment with each of the cutter blades on the shaft 25. With themultiple blade and flare forming wheel tool, a plurality of sleeves maybe severed from the tube 23 with each of the multiple revolutionoperations of the shafts 25 and 34. When the sleeves are completelysevered from the tube and the flare forming wheel and cutter blade havebeen moved away from each other, the sleeves may be extracted from thearbor and a new tube may be positioned on the arbor to be formed intothe next group of sleeve members.

Referring now to FIGURES 1-8, the process for attaching an end closurewith a double seam will now be described. FIGURE 4 illustrates a sectionthrough an end closure blank. It should be understood that the endclosure is in reality a disk-like member having a central flat portion'51 and preformed end curls 52. The preformed curls of the end closureare adapted to form the cover hook that will eventually be rolled duringdouble seamed connection of the end closure to the body hook of thesleeve portion of the container. FIGURE 3 illustrates the cover hook at53, the body hook at 54, the sleeve at 22 and the end closure at 51.

FIGURES 5-8 illustrate the formation of the double seamed engagement ofthe end closure with the sleeve body portion. As illustrated in FIGURE5, the flanged end 41 of a container sleeve 22 is inserted into theprecurled end 52 of the end closure 51. It should be noted that theprecurled portion 52 is provided with a slight overcurl of from 0 to 5with respect to the flat end surface and the overall thickness of theend closure is from 0.060 inch to 0.062 inch as illustrated in FIGURE 4and that the flanged end of the sleeve is inserted under the precurledlip, as is the case with existing practice. FIGURE 6 illustrates theinitial positioning of the sleeve member 22 against the inside surfaceof the precurled portion 52 of the end closure 51; the sleeve is thenpressed against the inside surface of the end closure with the flange 41extending flat against that inside surface. Also in FIGURE 6 it can beseen that the cover hook 53 is started in its curl into engagement withthe exterior of the sleeve where the flange 41 has been formed. In eachof the FIGURES 58 the forming surfaces of the tool for engaging the endclosure onto the s eeve are shown as they engage the end closure toeffect the double seamed formation. Each of these tools is shown insection and it should be understood that they are progressive formingdies, each rotatable about an axis aligned with respect t4;1 the axis ofthe sleeve having the end closure attached t ereto.

FIGURE 7 illustrates the formation of the double seamed end closure withthe flanged end 41 of the sleeve 22 totally enclosed by the now doublecurled end 52 of the end closure 51. It can be seen that the cover hook53 is Worked by its forming die and that the flange 41 has now beensubstantially formed into the body hook of the double seamed endclosure.

FIGURE 8 illustrates the final formation of the double seamed endclosure with the cover hook 53 enclosing the body hook 54 and with theend closure 51 totally enclosing the flanged end of the sleeve 22. Theformed double seamed seal is then compressed laterally with respect tothe axis of the sleeve so as to form the tight seal as illustrated inFIGURE 3. The entire double seamed seal has been formed merely byrolling the end closure and sleeve body into each other and no sealingcompound or material has been employed due to the compressibility of theplastics.

The container of the present invention is now provided with an endclosure at at least one end thereof. It the end closure as applied isconsidered to be the bottom of the container, the container may then befilled and a cover closure may be applied in exactly the same manner ashas been illustrated in FIGURES 58. The particular container illustratedhas been formed of a modified polypropylene plastics sleeve material andthe end closure has been applied to the sleeve material on aconventional cover applying machine as used in the canning industry. Theplastics body portion and end closure are sealed in a double seal formedwithout wrinkles at the juncture of the container body and the coverhook. It also has been found that where flexible side wall containershave failed and developed punctures, these failures and puncturesgenerally occur where wrinkles have been formed in the application ofthe end closures. The preforming of the end closure with the slightinwardly bent angle as shown in FIGURE 4, has been instrumental in theelimination of the wrinkling of the flexible material against the endclosure. It has also been found that the use of polypropylene for thesleeve material produces an advantage over many other plastics materialsin that it may be formed with the flange as at 41 without causing stressfailures at the body Wall where the inside of the seaming wall radius isformed. Other plastics materials have been found to form stress cracksat these flanges; those materials fail to function satisfactorilyparticularly where the containers may be subjected to increased internalpressures as may occur if the container is dropped.

One specific use of a container formed in the manner illustrated and ofthe material previously described, is for dispensing canned lubricatingoils of the type used in automobiles. The modified polypropylenematerial including a predetermined amount of neutral motor oil blendedinto the mixture is the feedstock to the tube extruder. The tubes arethen flanged and cut into the sleeve type body portion that may beseamed at each end to enclose the graded motor oils. The polypropylenematerial used as the sleeve portion of the container for motor oils ismodified with the blended neutral oil to eliminate the adsorption of themotor oil into the container body. Polypropylene and other plasticspolymers have a tendency to absorb the contained oils if used ascontainers for motor oils. When modified as herein proposed thisadsorption is eliminated while retaining all of the desirable featuresof the polypropylene itself. The flexible walled container thus formedprovides a container that will withstand the usual amount of roughtreatment encountered in service stations While providing adequatestrength for stacking in the storage before use. The manufacture ofthese containers is greatly simplified by the formation of the sleevesfrom the extruded tubular material and the application of end closuresin the conventional double seamed manner. The formation of the bodyportion of these containers from a plastics material also reduces theoverall cost of the container in the dispensing of canned goods in thatplastics materials are considerably less expensive than both the allmeta containers and the foil covered fiber containers present y 1n use.

While a certain preferred embodiment of the invention has beenspecifically disclosed, it should be understood that the invention isnot limited thereto as many variations will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadestpossible interpretation within the terms of the following claims:

We claim:

1. A tool for forming a flare at the end of two polypropylene plasticssleeves while severing said sleeves from each other comprising:

(a) a flare forming wheel having a central axis for rotation, a firstsurface having a peripheral radial dimension from said axis of saidwheel, shoulder surface at each side of said first surface having largerradial dimension from said axis of said wheel than the dimension of saidfirst surface, said shoulders being spaced from each other in adirection parallel to the axis of said wheel, the surface of said wheelbetween said first surface and each of said shoulders being rounded atthe larger radial dimension in joining said shoulder and chamfered at 40at the smaller radial dimension in joining said first surface,

(b) and a flanging arbor and slitter having a central axis for rotationparallel to said axis for rotation of said forming wheel, a firstsurface having a peripheral radial dimension from said axis of saidarbor and aligned with the longitudinal center of said first surface ofsaid forming wheel, second surfaces at each side of said first surfacehaving smaller radial dimensions from said axis of said arbor than thedimension of said first surface, said first surface having a cuttingedge at its largest radial dimension and having a body portion of awidth parallel to the axis of said arbor smaller than said space betweenshoulders on said forming wheel by an amount adequate to accommodate atleast one layer of said polypropylene material at each side of said bodyportion,

(c) said flanging arbor and slitter and said flare forming Wheel beingmovable with respect to each other so as to position said body portionof said first surface of said arbor between said shoulders of said wheeland said second surface of said arbor aligned with said shouldersurfaces of said wheel, said cutting edge of said arbor being adapted tosubstantially contact said first surface of said wheel, whereby the endsof two polypropylene plastics sleeves are formed with a flared end edgeand severed from each other as said wheel and arbor are rotated withrespect to each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,811,745 11/1957 DoWse et al.18-10 XR 3,060,503 10/1962 Eckert l8l0 XR 3,187,380 6/1965 Harrison 1810XR WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, PrimaryExaminer

